Sunday, March 27, 2011

If You Want to be a Winner is it OK to Quit?

We've all heard that line "winners never quit, and quitters never win". No doubt, it's inspirational in some situations. But is it universally applicable? That is, does it apply in all situations?

I don't think so. Neither does Dan Miller, who explored this topic a while back on his blog.

If you're giving something all that you've got, and getting nowhere, it's time to reevaluate your choices.

I've set goals in the past, realized after a lot of heartache and tears that the goal was a poor fit for me, and changed course. Some of these course changes resulted in a lot of what Dave Ramsey calls "stupid tax", but I realized the cost would be much higher if I continued along that path.

I once enrolled in a distance learning college program. The institution was not accredited, but I had no idea what that meant at the time. As I came to understand what it meant to not be accredited, I also realized that the program wasn't the best fit for me. I made the decision to drop out and I switched my enrollment to the University of Phoenix, where I earned my Bachelor's degree in IT, which was a perfect fit for me.

If you're beating your head against the wall on something, don't be afraid to quit and change directions. Successful people do it all the time. That's what makes them successful. I've adopted a mantra of sorts: "If you're not screwing up, you're not trying hard enough".